Effect of desmopressin-induced water retention on systemic hemodynamics in rat

of desmopressin-induced water retention on systemic hemo-dynamics in rat. Am. J. Physiol. 243 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 12): H934-H940, 1982.-The effect of isolated water retention on mean arterial pressure has not been clarified in the rat. We induced water retention in conscious experimental rats by 4 days of continuous infusion of 0.2 % NaCl (3.1 ml/h) and l-(3-mercaptopropionic acid)-8-D-arginine vasopressin (DDAVP). DDAVP was used to avoid any direct vascular effect of vaso-pressin. Control rats received 0.2 % NaCl alone. Sodium balance remained neutral and comparable in control and experimental animals throughout the protocol. Progressive water retention (8 % of body wt) occurred in experimental animals before a new steady state of water balance occurred. This water retention was associated with an increase in mean arterial pressure from 116 to 133 mmHg (P < 0.05), whereas mean arterial pressure